Our Father’s Care

Uplook – May 2016 — Grace & Truth Magazine

Our Father’s Care

“The very hairs of your head are all numbered.” —Luke 12:7 NKJV

This amazing statement by our Lord Jesus shows that our God and Father cares for His children, and He completely controls the tiniest details. He even numbers our steps (Job 31:4)! However, God’s perfect control does not set aside our responsibility. His watch and care are marvelous, but they do not excuse us for failing to do the things we ought to do or for doing things that are wrong.

Some Background Information
By the time the Lord Jesus spoke these words He had already been rejected by the leaders of His people (Jn. 1:9-11; Mt. 11:20-24, 12:14). In Luke 9 we read of the Lord’s preparing and sending the twelve disciples on a mission representing Him. This was followed by the Lord sending out 70 disciples (10:1-15) with solemn warnings addressed to those who would reject their message. In view of His rejection (see Luke 4:28-30) it must have been very special to our Lord that some would hear the Word of God, accept it and keep it. These are those of whom it is written that they received Him and were born of God (Jn. 1:12-13). The Lord calls such believers “blessed,” or happy (Lk. 11:28). Those who hear and keep the Word are true disciples because they follow the Master in spite of the fact that He is publicly rejected.

To encourage His disciples the Lord told them, “Everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man shall confess him also before the angels of God” (12:8). Thus we meet people like Mary of Bethany and her sister Martha (10:38-42), who listened to His Word, served and worshiped Him together with their brother Lazarus (Jn. 12:1-3), whom the Lord had brought back from the dead (Jn. 11). They are great examples for us in several ways.

Opposition – True Commitment Needed
Although people marked by hypocrisy or other forms of opposition were around the Lord, a group of faithful disciples were called by Him “friends” (Lk. 12:4) and “little flock” (v.32). He taught them to rely on the heavenly Father – just as we need to do – because the Father really cares for us and He perfectly knows what we need (v.30). Jesus also encouraged them to “seek the kingdom of God” (v.31), calling it “a treasure in the heavens that does not fail” (v.33). This seeking implies a special commitment and devotion to Him by His followers.

The Father cares for disciples who are thus committed, and He is pleased to give them the kingdom (v.32). On the one hand disciples in God’s kingdom need to place His interests before their own concerns and desires. On the other hand He really cares for them. Living as disciples of the Lord Jesus in today’s world, we trust that our heavenly Father will take care of our needs while we commit ourselves to promote His interests. Faith is required – implying that we are not greedy or selfish. Rather, we are rich toward God, seeking His kingdom. We count on Him in everything, not worrying, while putting His interests first. In contrast, the parable of the rich fool (12:16-21) shows the opposite attitude, indirectly emphasizing the vital importance of having the right priorities – putting God’s interests before our own without being anxious1 or distracted by all kinds of concerns or worries (v.25).

A Loving Father’s Care
Scripture balances God’s care for us and our commitment to Him. The Lord Jesus described God’s care for the ravens, as He provides food for them (v.24; Job 38:41; Ps. 147:9). He also used the unclean ravens to feed the prophet Elijah, caring for him (1 Ki. 17:6). If God could do such a thing during those difficult days, will He not take care of His own today? This divine care is a sufficient reason not to worry.

He also cares for the flowers of the field, the lilies (Lk. 12:27), and provides them with a beauty greater than Solomon’s glory even though these flowers are gone by the next day. How much more care, then, will He lavish on His own children! Jesus affirms that the Father knows what His children need and that He really cares for them, but they are to have God’s interests at heart (v.31). It is our duty to seek His rights in the world in which we live – which rejects Him.

The Little Flock
“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (v.32). The Lord’s instruction for disciples in this verse is that they should realize that they are all His sheep and belong to one and the same flock (Jn. 10), even though this is a “little flock.” Contrary to the majority of the nation that rejected the Messiah – and still does so – His followers are sheep that fully identify with the Shepherd, to whom all power and authority is given in heaven and on earth (Mt. 28:18). For this reason they should not be afraid or frightened. This “little flock” is His flock and it does not belong to anybody else (Acts 20:28), even though He uses His servants to care for it (1 Pet. 5:2) in a world full of dangers, temptations and opposition. This “little flock” is composed of all born-again believers from among Jews and Gentiles (Jn. 10:14-18; Eph. 2:11-22, 3:1-11). It is in the midst of what is called the “Christian profession,” surrounded by all kinds of dangers and counterfeits.

In the world to come Christ will be recognized as the true Shepherd of the whole nation of Israel (Ps. 80:1), after the false shepherd will have been removed (Zech. 11:15-17; 2 Th. 2:7-12). Christ also will be the supreme Shepherd of the nations (Mt. 25:32-40; Isa. 2:3; Rev. 7:9-17). The believers today know Him as the good Shepherd (Jn. 10) and as the great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb. 13:20). They benefit from His leadership (v.21) as He faithfully cares for them – for the Father’s care is also the Lord’s care. In commitment to Him the disciples of this flock are engaged in His business, which runs on different principles than the Judeo-Christian profession.

The “little flock” focuses on Christ in heaven, and even though as sheep of this flock they are still on earth, they have Him as their treasure in their hearts (Lk. 12:34). At the same time they are waiting for Him in view of the wedding (vv.35-37) and He calls them “blessed” twice. One more time He calls them blessed, provided they are faithful and wise stewards (vv.37,43). The verses that follow (44-48) show our solemn responsibility during the time our Lord is absent from this scene, which does not take away anything from the tremendous blessing of the Father’s care.

Casting Our Care On Him
“Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7 NASB). This translation shows the differences in meaning of the word “care,” when compared to “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (NKJV). Whatever translation we use, this is another example of what we have seen so far, namely that our Father’s marvelous care does not set aside our own responsibility. Peter shows us that we must humble ourselves and cast on our God all our anxiety (vv.6-7), including concerns, preoccupation about our needs, and worries. Then we need to allow Him to take over as He uses these difficult, distracting situations to bring about the right outcome in His grace. That is the Father’s care!

The apostle Paul learned to do what Peter wrote; both are examples to us. Paul was looking at things from his prison cell, with the grace God gave him, and was able to teach similar lessons to the believers in Philippi and to us today. The apostle was a prisoner of Rome for the cause of Christ. There in prison, far from Jerusalem, he wrote: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). These are amazing statements from one who really trusted his heavenly Father’s care, because of his own experiences in God’s “school” (1:12-18). Paul shared his own learning experience and applied it to the believers at Philippi, with great confidence in God’s faithfulness, namely that what he had learned himself would be something they also would learn (consider the end of Philippians 4:12).

In this confidence Paul added, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (v.19). In other words, he had seen God’s care for his own needs, and he had confidence that the believers at Philippi would learn the same lessons and experience the Father’s care in their circumstance. Applying these things to us, we can say that the abundance of supplies with Him is available to us when we put our trust in our wonderful God and Father and in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul made this amazing statement, like a guarantee.

Praise be to the Father and to the Son who always work together for our good, that in the power of the Holy Spirit we may enjoy the peace of God, which passes all understanding and which will keep our hearts and minds (v.7). “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work” (2 Th. 2:16).

END NOTES
1. The terms “care,” “worries,” “anxious” and “concern” are derived from a Greek root meaning “to be torn or drawn into different directions.” This group of words includes verbs, nouns, adjectives or compounds linked to the same root. It has seven references in Luke’s gospel (8:14, 10:41, 12:11,22,25,26, 21:34) and 21 (3x7) in the rest of the New Testament. The last one is in 1 Peter 5:7.
2. “Fear not” (Greek: me phobou) occurs seven times in Luke’s writings (Lk. 1:13,30, 5:10, 8:50, 12:32; Acts 18:9, 27:24).

By Alfred Bouter